The present invention generally relates to fuel-fired heating appliances such as water heaters, and more particularly relates to an apparatus for sensing the presence of flammable vapors near the burner of a fuel-fired appliance and responsively shutting down the operation of the burner.
Residential and commercial gas-fired water heaters typically comprise a main burner and a standing pilot burner disposed within a combustion chamber below a cylindrical water tank. The burner is supplied with gas through a gas valve, and with air through an air inlet screen. Such standing pilot water heaters vent the combustion air without the use of a fan, and operate independent of the electrical power within the building. While conventional water heater appliances of this type operate reliably and safely, there may exist the possibility that the burner could cause flammable vapors external to the appliance to be ignited. The resulting flame could potentially propagate out of the appliance into the ambient environment around the appliance.
Efforts to mitigate the potential hazard posed by the presence of flammable vapors in proximity to a gas burning appliance have been previously directed to a control circuit in connection with a sensor that responds to flammable vapors by changing resistance to effect shut down of burner operation. Burner operation may be restored when the sensor returns to its original resistance after the vapors dissipate. These previous types of sensor systems do not indefinitely shut down the burner from further operation upon first detecting the presence of flammable vapors. The flammable vapor sensors presently used, however, have been known to become erratic and unreliable once they are exposed to a significant concentration of flammable vapors. Accordingly, a sensor system that will lockout the burner from further operation until the sensor is replaced is desired. Attempts have been previously made to employ a microprocessor to shut off burner operation in response to a sensor detecting the presence of flammable vapors. Such microprocessor-based electronic systems have the ability to lockout the appliance upon detecting the presence of flammable vapors, but necessitate the provision of a power source for the microprocessor. This approach is either too expensive if such a microprocessor control requires installation of electrical power for replacement of an existing water heater, or too impractical if the microprocessor's power consumption results in frequent battery replacement. There still exists a need for an inexpensive, low maintenance flammable vapor sensing apparatus that is able to directly interrupt the appliance burner circuit and indefinitely shut down the burner operation of a gas-fired appliance until the apparatus can be replaced.